Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring: practical considerations

Ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) allows one to evaluate the blood pressure (BP) profile over a 24-hour period in the patient's natural environment. Casual pressure measurements in the physician's office can be affected by alarm reactions, thus causing "white coat" hypertension. ABPM allows one to evaluate these reactions and determine the average pressure and variability of BP along with the effects of physical activity and emotional arousal on BP patterns while at work, at home, and during sleep. Average pressures determined by ABPM are more predictive of target organ involvement and cardiovascular complications of hypertension than casual monitoring of BP in the clinic. The absence of physiologic decline in arterial pressure during sleep is associated with increased prevalence of atherosclerotic complications and left ventricular hypertrophy as well as impairment of the autonomic nervous system. Although further prospective studies are needed to confirm the benefits of home pressure readings and ABPM, ABPM can be helpful in the diagnosis and determination of prognosis and therapeutic responses in a select group of patients.